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'The Vegan Zombie': Syracuse cooking show plans to release book of vegan recipes

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Chittenango High School graduates Jon Tedd (2000), left, and Chris Cooney (1994) are the star and creator, respectively, of The Vegan Zombie, a YouTube cooking show with vegan recipes and tidbits about surviving the zombie apocalypse. They're planning to release a cookbook later this year.
(Photo by Provided)

Zombies may be interested in eating brains, but vegans certainly wouldn't -- yet the two meet gloriously well on the set of "The Vegan Zombie," a YouTube cooking show based in the Syracuse area.

Chittenango High School graduates Chris Cooney and Jon Tedd are the creator and star, respectively, of the video series that has reached more than 1.2 million views and 21,000 subscribers. And for them, it makes perfect sense to mix veganism and the living dead.

"I've always done films and I love the horror genre, and I've been vegan for half my life" Cooney said. "So I wanted to incorporate everything that I like into one thing... I wrote a script for a movie called 'The Vegan Zombie' where the virus was transmitted through the meat and the dairy that the people ate, so naturally the vegans were one step ahead."

View full sizeThis illustration by Ian Snyder shows a preview of what the upcoming Vegan Zombie cookbook would look like. Vegan recipes will be interspersed with a graphic novelization of the story behind 'The Vegan Zombie.'Provided

Cooney then pitched the idea to Tedd, who loved the juxtaposition of genres, and the project turned into a cooking show set in the zombie apocalypse with vegan recipes.

"We said 'Let's do a cooking show,' because I've actually gone to culinary school, and I'm not afraid to be in front of the camera whereas he likes to be behind it," Tedd added. "So it kind of worked out well that way."

Tedd stars as the host while Cooney films and edits each episode, and both create their own original recipes for the show.

Cooney didn't go to film school, but says he's be making videos on his own for roughly 20 years. "When I was 16 and my friends were buying cars, I bought a camcorder," he explained.

Tedd lives in Marcellus and Cooney resides in Liverpool, but episodes are shot throughout Central New York, including at the Shoppingtown Mall and the Strong Hearts Cafe in Syracuse. Many videos focus on how to make various meals in the kitchen, but also tell the backstory of how vegans survived the zombie apocalypse.

Inspiration for the genre comes from some of Cooney's favorite movies, like George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" and "Survival of the Dead." Tedd admits he's not as big of a horror buff as his partner, but loves "28 Days Later" and AMC's "The Walking Dead."

The pair says they don't want the show to be "preachy" or use graphic images to tell people to abstain from eating meat or wearing animal skin. For them, veganism is a personal choice made for ethical reasons and health benefits -- and others are invited to try it.

"It's not just for vegans, it's for meat-eaters, for vegetarians, people who want to be healthy, people who love the horror genre," Cooney says of the show. "There's a lot of people who say 'I'm not vegan, but I love your show.' We welcome everybody. It means a lot to us when somebody says 'I eat one of your meals at least once a week' so we're doing our part at least one day a week."

Both Cooney and Tedd work full-time jobs, but hope to make this their career eventually.

Cooney still plans to make a feature-length film called "The Vegan Zombie," but first he and Tedd will release a cookbook. It'll feature 75 to 100 vegan recipes -- including 10 to 15 new ones not available on their website, theveganzombie.com.

Popular recipes include a stuffed broccoli & spinach pizza and a "No Killy Philly" cheesteak. Some of their personal favoritess that they've created include an omelet, a quiche, cheesecake, fettucine alfredo and a spicy black bean burger.

The book, due this fall, will also feature chapters in between the recipes that tell the story of how the zombie outbreak happened illustrated by Bobcat Goldthwait's nephew, Robert Kramer, who lives in the Utica area.

"It's not just a cookbook, it's also a graphic novel, like a comic that tells the story of 'The Vegan Zombie,'" Cooney explains. "It'll tell what the story is for the people who can't wait for the movie to come out."

Cooney and Tedd are setting up a Kickstarter within the next few weeks to gain funding for the book. They hope to self-release in stores like Wegmans, restaurants, online and anywhere else that shows an interesting in selling it.

Fans can follow updates from "The Vegan Zombie" at facebook.com/zombiegate and donate when the Kickstarter fundraising page is launched.